Tawee back from Indonesia after arranging escapee’s extradition
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong, who is in Indonesia to negotiate repatriation of an escaped crime boss, will return to Bangkok Sunday night after arranging for the fugitive’s extradition, a well-informed source said.
The source at the Justice Ministry said Tawee would arrive in Bangkok at about 11pm on Sunday and would not hold a press conference upon his arrival.
Tawee flew to Indonesia on Friday afternoon to discuss the extradition of Chavalit “Paeng Na Node” Thongduang, 37, who had been sentenced to 20 years and three months in jail last year but escaped. He was convicted of trying to free a drug suspect from police custody.
The source said Chavalit would be flown back on a Royal Thai Air Force plane on Tuesday.
The source said it was still under discussion whether to fly Chavalit directly to Nakhon Si Thammarat or to Don Mueang military airport.
The source added that the Immigration Bureau would take Chavalit from the air force plane for legal processing before he would be handed over to the Nakhon Si Thammarat prison.
Chavalit, whose nickname is Paeng plus Na Node, the name of a subdistrict in Phatthalung province, managed to escape in the early hours of October 22, 2023, after faking an illness and being admitted to Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital.
The crime boss had been under the watchful eye of the police since 2007 before he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years and three months in prison for trying to help one of his henchmen break out of jail. He would have completed his term on May 6.
The convict has been wanted for several cases but has managed to avoid sentencing thanks to help from a big-name politician in Phatthalung.
